a can of boiled potatoes

i stare at the dented

can

in my cupboard.

boiled potatoes.

i remember reading about

botulism

in a health magazine

in jiffy lube

when i was waiting

for the oil to be changed

in my car.

i'm afraid to open it.

i don't even know where

this can came

from.

who would buy a can

of boiled potatoes.

and then i think of Dasha,

my friend in

St. Petersburg.

i think she sent it in an

effort to get

a visa.

.